What’s the Recipe for Effective Leadership Development?
You don’t have to be good at everything to be a good leader. Effective leadership development focuses on the mindset, key skills and competencies they need for their particular role. That said, there are some qualities that cut across the board.
If you had to come up with analogy for learning and development in today’s environment, it would be this: A dish is only as good as the quality and combination of its ingredients.
Effective leadership development is like following a tried-and-true recipe; the core ingredients have to be there and they have to be high-quality. But, as with cooking, everyone has an opinion about what works when it comes to developing the next generation of great leaders. And individualized tastes and requirements should come into play.
Just as each organization has different strategic business outcomes, each leadership development strategy must align with that strategic growth focus. If the learning isn’t relevant to the business strategy, it won’t be relevant to the managers. And without relevance, the learning fades. You end up spending all that time, money and effort on the training with little to no resulting impact on the business to show for it.
It’s a good reminder that more isn’t always better, whether you’re talking about ingredients or skills. An estimated $100 billion is spent on leadership development annually, and there are literally thousands of leadership books on the market with an average of 4 new ones being published per day. That’s a lot of content to digest. The question is, how much of it is truly making a difference?
At the individual level, just as there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to developing leaders, there’s no one single profile of the ideal leader. And in fact, you don’t have to be good at everything to be a good leader. Like some of the great dishes, the best leaders rely on and showcase a few very simple yet powerful ingredients. They focus in on the mindset, key skills and competencies they need for their particular role and that today’s realities demand.
That said, there are some qualities that cut across the board in the current environment—including critical thinking, emotional intelligence, adaptability, collaboration, and the ability and willingness to help their people become problem solvers. Problem-solving is an important skill for leaders, too- but in an increasingly complex workplace, they alone can’t have all the answers. They need to be able to rely on and support their teams in coming up with solutions to their own tough challenges.
For many leaders, all of this is requiring a change in mindset, moving from a more directive leadership style to a coaching and collaborative approach. And that means L&D will have to make sure their developmental strategies are designed to facilitate this shift.
The Secret Sauce of Effective Leadership Development
So, how do you combine what we know about effective leadership development to get the right mix for your organization? With the above context in mind, the “secret sauce” of leadership development is a learning solution that includes:
- Facilitated discussions that offer a safe space to spark and share new ideas and insights about how to solve real work challenges
- Shifting mindsets by providing “aha” moments that connect at an emotional level, versus just an intellectual exercise
- Sustaining momentum and embedding new behaviors through ongoing coaching
The Leadership Challenge That’s Eating Away at Business Results
Another important bit of context that should influence the direction and focus of your leadership development strategies is the ongoing employee engagement crisis. According to Gallup, the proportion of employees that are engaged has dropped (from 35% to 32%) and the proportion of employees that are actively disengaged has increased (from 13% to 18%) since (pre-pandemic) 2019. More employees are emotionally drained from their work, and nearly one in four employees have experienced more severe signs of burnout including reduced productivity and cynicism towards coworkers and their jobs.
Solving these challenges has to be a leadership priority since it’s eating away at business results. Research shows that not only do engaged employees perform 20% better, companies with engaged employees outperform the rest by up to 202%.
These statistics reinforce the importance of leadership skills like emotional intelligence, empathy and coaching. Engagement comes from the emotional connection people have with their work. A sense of purpose and connectedness to the mission drive motivation and help fuel someone’s inner passion to achieve more, for themselves as well as the organization.
These same factors come into play when you look at an organization’s ability to recruit and retain top talent. Consider what younger workers say they’re looking for and value in a job: In addition to things like remote and flexible work arrangements, they want to work for companies whose values align with their personal values. They want to be part of work cultures that are empathetic and whose “personalities” and culture are welcoming and supportive. They’re looking for development opportunities, recognition for performance and a continuous feedback loop (not an annual review…) from their managers.
This isn’t about rewards and recognition, though. Leaders also have to be able to have the tough conversations and draw out different perspectives so that everyone feels heard and encouraged to contribute. A shared sense of ownership that emanates from leaders fosters an environment where employees are energized, want to do more and bring their very best, not just do the minimum required. Great leaders craft meaningful, motivating workplace employee experiences that keep people engaged.
If there’s one mantra that leaders need to keep in mind, it’s this: Create a culture of trust. People will only follow you and bring all their energy and commitment to the degree that they trust you.
Effective Leadership Development Includes Modeling the Way
Leaders have to live and breathe the values the organization claims to espouse. Claiming a company has certain values and beliefs is good. When they’re publicly visible- on the company website or in physical offices- that’s great too. But they don’t mean much unless they’re modeled every single day. An important part of leadership development is ensuring what the leaders say matches what they do. If not, your people will be confused, disappointed and, ultimately, disgusted.
Another critical component of leadership development is identifying future leaders who not only have the necessary skills but also the necessary will. As leadership expert Kevin Eikenberry so eloquently stated on our podcast, “Will versus skill — it’s very simple. Do I have the will to do it, which means do I want to, versus do I know how to, the skill?”
Just like cooking, to truly be a good leader you also have to have the passion for it. Do the people you want to be leaders have the values, will and commitment to leadership? Great leaders are driven by the actions and impact they have on other people. They must examine and have the values and commitment to serving their teams and raising them up. These are leaders who will:
- Explain decisions vs. just mandating and handing them down from above
- Maintain open gateways of communication (that every organization claims to be important)
- Model the behaviors they want to see in their people (and that they want their people to model with customers)
- Provide a safe space for people to speak their minds and feel like they can ask for help
- Hold themselves accountable to things they say
- Allow for healthy boundaries between work and personal lives
- Celebrate successes and progress and reinforce positive behaviors
- Genuinely seek out new ideas and guidance
Implications for L&D and HR Professionals
The recipe for effective leadership development isn’t just about mixing in a pinch of this competency and a tablespoon of that one; it has to be designed for each leader’s requirements, based on their personal and professional growth goals. And just as important as building skill, it has to shift mindsets and reinforce the right ingredients that honor that culture from which they originate. That’s how you drive a long-term excellence and a real competitive advantage.
I am reminded of something I heard at a conference a few years ago where the speaker said that getting the “soft stuff” right isn’t easy, but it is what makes the “hard stuff” possible.
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